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Hands-On With the World of Warcraft Miniatures Game

The various attacks in the game are divided into physical or magic attacks, and every character has a separate resistance to each. Damage is resolved using a pile of 10-sided dice; Every time you roll a four or higher that's considered a "hit." Then your victim can roll for his or her defenses, getting a chance to block each point of damage using the same mechanic. Example: My Warrior has an attack strength of six, so I roll six dice, some of which will hit. Your Mage only has a physical defense of two, so you roll two dice, which can block up to two hits. The total damage done is simply clicked off by spinning the counter on the base of the figure. Combat moves very quickly.

Rolling a "10" on a die while attacking means that you score a critical hit, the effects of which are different based on the character and the attack. A Warrior might merely do a point of extra damage. My Night Elf Paladin, on the other hand, heals all friendly units around him whenever he scores a crit.

In addition to each character's regular attacks, players can also use attacks from their "action bar." These special attacks are represented by cards that you bring into battle with you, two for each character. These collectible, tradeable cards all describe various effects, similar to the attacks you'd use in the computer game, causing fear, mind blast, etc. Other players can't see what's on your action bar until you flip the cards up, which adds an element of strategy and surprise.

It took a few turns to get used to using the timeline and to adjust to the combat (which involves gathering a handful of ten-sided dice for every swing), but once we had a feel for it the game moved fast. Maybe not as fast as a real arena battle online, but it certainly had the feel of fast, frenetic combat with decisive blows and surprises.

Onyxia lunges. More dots! More dots!

Winning the Game

Victory conditions are determined by the type of army you field, which is a great self-balancing game mechanic. Every hero you put on the battlefield has an "honor" value. Your win the game when you score victory points equal to the honor value of the army you're fielding. Every kill is worth a fixed four victory points, no matter which unit you kill. Depending on the scenario, you can also earn points from the map (the demo scenario was a kind of "king-of-the-hill" game, where players got victory points by holding or standing next to the center of the map.)

The upshot of this system is that it's not required to have perfectly balanced armies to play the game. One player can bring 30 points worth of units into the battle, and the other player 20. The player with the larger army just has to work that much harder to win.

The real focus is on positioning your units, choosing the right abilities for each, and being strategic about your attacks. A gnomish Mage can cast some ferocious spells, and can shrug off most magical attacks with her high resistance. But if someone with a high physical attack can get next to the unit, she's toast. The mechanics are simple, but there's a layer of strategy there. Maybe not enough for serious wargamers, but certainly a good balance of depth vs. playability.

In addition to the demo figures on display, we also got a good look at the epic Onyxia figure that Upper Deck is working on. This dragon was immense, and also painted with the same loving detail head-to-toe as the tiny character figures who surrounded her. No price or release date has been formally announced for Onyxia, but we're expecting to see her next year. As for the rest of the game, look for it on shelves in November. Four-figure starter sets will retail for $24.99, and booster packs, with three random figures each, will be available for $14.99.